The present disclosure relates generally to wireless electronic devices and, more particularly, to precise indoor localization and tracking of wireless electronic devices.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Transmitters and receivers, or when coupled together as part of a single unit, transceivers, are commonly included in various electronic devices, and particularly, mobile electronic devices such as, for example, phones (e.g., mobile and cellular phones, cordless phones, personal assistance devices), computers (e.g., laptops, tablet computers), internet connectivity routers (e.g., Wi-Fi routers or modems), radios, televisions, wearable electronic devices (e.g., smartwatches, heartrate monitors, exercise wristbands) or any of various other stationary or handheld devices. Certain types of transceivers, known as wireless transceivers, may be used to generate and receive wireless signals to be transmitted and/or received by way of an antenna coupled to the transceiver. Specifically, the wireless transceiver is generally used to allow the mobile electronic devices to wirelessly communicate data over a network channel or other medium (e.g., air) to and from one or more external mobile electronic devices or other wireless electronic devices.
Indeed, as the worldwide usage of mobile and wearable electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, and so forth) and in-home wireless electronic devices increases, so has the demand for location-based services using the mobile and wearable electronic devices and in-home wireless electronic devices. For example, in outside environments (e.g., outdoor environments), mobile and wearable electronic devices may employ global positioning systems (GPS) systems to provide location and navigation data wherever an unobstructed line of sight (LoS) channel is available between a number of GPS space satellites and the mobile and wearable electronic devices. Yet due to the requirement of the unobstructed LoS channels between GPS space satellites and the mobile and wearable electronic devices, GPS cannot provide accurate location and navigation data for indoor environments (e.g., inside of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings), and particularly not for distances less than 2 meters (m). Thus, a number of indoor positioning systems (IPS) have been developed in an attempt to provide at least approximate indoor localization and navigation.
For example, one such preeminent example of an IPS system may include a “fingerprinting” system, which may include a technique of developing a radio frequency (RF) map of particular areas of a location or environment based on predetermined received signal strength indicators (RSSI) values emanating, for example, from a Wi-Fi connected device or other wireless connectivity “hotspots.” However, “fingerprinting” systems most often includes an offline calibration or training phase in which RSSI values must be collected for hundreds if not thousands of Wi-Fi connected devices or other wireless connectivity “hotspots” to achieve even marginal localization accuracy. Furthermore, certain real-time environmental conditions such as, for example, obstructions due to the presence of pedestrians, the opening and closing of doors, as well as variations in atmospheric conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature) may alter the RF signals and the resulting RSSI values. Moreover, the transceivers employed in many mobile and wearable electronic devices, as well as those in in-home electronic devices, may be subject to “front-back” ambiguity, or ambiguity with respect to a particular wireless electronic device determining whether a signal arrives at that particular wireless electronic device from the front or from the back of that particular wireless electronic device. Accordingly, it may be useful to provide methods and devices to improve indoor localization and tracking of wireless electronic devices.